In the fast lane

Early hours this morning we reached the coast of Brazil. The South Equatorial current assisted us a bit, and now we are in the thick of the Guiana current. If you Google Windy.com, select current, and scroll to the north eastern part of Brazil where we are, you will clearly see the current we are riding. Always an amazing experience to be sailing fast and smooth up the coast of South America.

We were about thirty miles from the coast nearest land, and in the distance the loom of a few cities were visible, as well as a few light houses. Closer to land one normally encounters lots of smaller fishing boats, with no navigational lights, and nearly impossible to pick up on radar. If you are lucky, they have a small yellowish light that bobs around.

To be sailing fast at night with a gennaker in this area can be disastrous. We always used to stop at Fortaleza for a day or two, and had to be extra careful. We would to light up our boat as much as possible so that we could at least be clearly visible, and give the fishing boats time to spot us and get out of the way. Nowadays we pass Fortaleza, and don't have to go on the shallow banks. We stay between the two and three thousand meter contour lines, where the current is strongest.

On average, six knots is a good speed to maintain and we need around thirteen knots of true wind to reach six knots in neutral current conditions. At the moment, and for the next few days, we are doing nine knots with thirteen knots of wind. The current where we are touches on three knots, and we sailing a third faster thanks to the current. St.Lucia is just under two thousand miles away, and this distance would normally take us two weeks to cover. We should be able to get to St.Lucia in ten days if all goes well, and keep going well. And no reason not to.

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the day, and what is left of the weekend.

Paul





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